Joshua Lowcockhttps://www.joshualowcock.com
New YorkMon, 18 Feb 2019 03:20:09 +0000enhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.32019.02.15 Last Week in Digital Mediahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JoshuaLowcock/~3/QDZZRlGfBj0/
Sun, 17 Feb 2019 22:45:18 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1789Here’s your Last Week in Digital Media. GENERAL Apple is rumored to be close to launching a Netflix-style magazine subscription service (off the back of the Texture acquisition last year). Reports put it at being announced this March. The WSJ reports (paywall) that Apple will be seeking to take a 50/50 split on the subscriptions which publishers are resisting. There is no word… Read more →

A new anonymous messaging app “Telonym“, an amalgam of “tell on him” and anonymous is reportedly causing concern for parents. Given the popularity of the app with teens, expect rapid copying of the less-controversial features by the major platforms.

Amazon acquired mesh WiFi router maker Eero for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is a further step towards Amazon’s move to own everything that makes a smart-home smart. Subject to any new Terms of Services (ToS), the acquisition would also help provide Amazon insights into internet use in a home across everything outside of the Amazon universe.

During the week, notable tech journalist Kara Swisher did a live tweet interview with twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The interview was very hard to follow in real time and didn’t reveal anything meaningful (Dorsey was very evasive) but it did demonstrate twitter isn’t really a good place to do a live interview. If you want to read the full transcript, recode has it on their website.

reddit is positioning itself as a challenger in the social media advertising space, with reddit raising US$300MM to invest in their website and taking ad share from Google and Facebook. An interesting highlight of the capital raising is that reddit’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) at US$0.30, the lowest of any social media platform based on a reported 330MM users.

Linked In has started rolling out a beta of a live streaming video product called Linked In Live (US-only). The service is invite-only for now and is intended to stay in the same tone as the overall platform e.g. event streaming, product launches, entrepreneur Q&As. To help ensure the videos look professional, Linked In has struck deals with live streaming tool providers like Wirecast and Switcher.

This is an unusual one and it’s hard to know where it sits legally, but there’s a new online streaming service called locast that streams local TV stations for free. Currently available in 9 US cities, the service claims to have legitimacy as a not-for-profit public digital translator (aka relay) service.

AI

Interesting news in the world of AI. A little talked of fact is eCommerce websites typically price match using bots and AI (that’s why so many sites have you add to cart before you can see the price to try and game the bot-system). Research out of Italy shows that unconnected price matching AI can learn to collude and increase prices. That is, ask what checks and balances exist in the system to ensure that the best interests of consumers and clients are protected.

REGULATORY

the UK Parliamentary inquiry into Disinformation and “Fake News” has published their final report. Among key findings, it calls for a mandatory Code of Ethics for tech. companies and states that it believes “Facebook intentionally and knowingly violated both data privacy and anti-competition laws“. The report highlights some harsh truths for everyone in the industry, including that UK electoral laws are not fit for purpose when it comes to social media. A fact that holds true everywhere in the world.

there are multiple reports that Facebook is about to enter into a multi-billion dollar settlement with the FTC around Cambridge-Analytica and other data privacy incidents from 2018. This will be something to watch. It would give a preview of how the FTC views privacy, if there is a new consent-decree it would change how Facebook goes to market in advertising, and it will set the direction for how the industry uses data.Editorial Observation: The previously cited UK Parliamentary report notes on pp26, paragraph 76 “If (Facebook) had fully complied with the FTC settlement, (Cambridge Analytica) would not have happened“. If the UK Parliamentary report reached this conclusion, it’s difficult to imagine the FTC arriving at a different position.

the UK has published the results of a study into the future of journalism and news industry titled “the Cairncross Review“. The full report is 157pp (pdf link) and is relevant to the ad industry as it calls out the reduction of supply in public-interest journalism as a “market failure” and questions whether the rise and power of Google and Facebook will require government intervention. While a UK-based report, the themes, and findings do resonate across countries given the challenges are common to news organizations everywhere.

Before I wrap this week, a brief housekeeping update. Due to weekend client travel, I may not be able to publish an update next week. I will try my best to find time to write an update and send a newsletter but ask for your patience if I miss a week.

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Sun, 10 Feb 2019 22:45:50 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1769Here’s your weekly dose of Last Week in Digital Media, here’s what you might have missed. GENERAL The Spotify rumor from last week was confirmed. with Spotify acquiring Gimlet Media and also Anchor. This gives Spotify a significant leg up and lead in owned and non-owned original content. In a blog post by Spotify founder, Daniel Ek, he outlines an expectation… Read more →

Facebook turned 15 years old during the week and Zuckerberg posted an update reflecting on how the company has grown and the challenges it faces. Zuckerberg did gloss over the real fundamental issues, as the update has an optimistic tone. If you’re interested in a retrospective look at how the homepage has changed, check out this link and check out what job title Zuckerberg gave himself.

The IPG Media Lab published its Innovation Outlook for 2019 “Unintended Consequences”. It’s a great read and despite the Lab’s observation that “Public perception (of digital) has notably shifted from techno-utopianism to wary optimism, if not outright skepticism.” there is plenty of innovation, inspiration, and optimism in the report. It’s worth your time to review.

While the Superbowl drew most of your attention last Sunday, there was something else happening. Over 10MM players connected into Fortnite concurrently to see a live concert from Marshmello. Given the success and size of the audience, expect this to be one of many live in-game entertainment events this year (and not just from Fortnite)

MEDIA & TECH Q4 RESULTS

Snapchat’s Q4 results showed a positive turn around for the company. Ad revenue was up 36% (US$390MM), Global Daily Active User (DAU) numbers were flat at 186MM (79MM in the US). Snapchat also claims to reach 70% of those aged 13-34 with ads each month. Of the stats buried further down which is interesting to note is that the Snapchat Pixel (for conversion tracking) saw 600MM conversion events in Q4, up from 230MM. Meaning Snap seems to be making rapid inroads as a transaction platform.

twitter has a good Q4, with twitter’s results with Q4 revenue of US$909MM (up 24%). twitter did change how they report numbers, introducing the metric Monetizable Daily Active Users (mDAUs) and stating the number was up 9% to 126MM. twitter said they will stop reporting Monthly Active Users (MAUs) but did say that MAUs were down 9MM from last year (sitting at 321MM). You can deep dive into the numbers in twitter’s investor report here (PDF link).

The WSJ reports that a DoubleVerify investigation found a scheme by bad actors to thwart ads.txt. The scheme involved taking advantage of the lax process and controls in 3rd party re-sellers. It serves as a reminder that applying standards and verification tools do not substitute for vigilance.

Facebook is making updates to its Custom Audience Transparency Tool. Detailed in a Facebook post, from Feb 27th, if a user clicks to find out “Why am I seeing this?” button next to an ad, it will reveal not only why a person was targeted, but if the advertiser used their customer list to target you.

TechCrunch has a story about several popular mainstream apps that have screen recording analytics software from a company called Glassbox. The problem (and there are many) is the recording of user behavior is not disclosed to users, does not ask for user consent, may capture and disclose sensitive user information, and the data may be monetized. Apple is not happy about this and has notified the developers of the apps in question that they are in “violation of (Apple’s) strict privacy terms and guidelines, and (Apple) will take immediate action if necessary“. This is worth flagging with any client that has an app, as Glassbox isn’t the only company offering app screen-recording analytics services.

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Sun, 03 Feb 2019 22:00:31 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1757An earlier edition of Last Week in Digital Media in an attempt to get your attention before the Super Bowl (or Superb Owl, as Google might have you believe). Here’s the news you may have missed: GENERAL Hulu is working on a new pause-based advertising unit available in Q2 of this year. The ad unit appears more like a banner,… Read more →

Hulu is working on a new pause-based advertising unit available in Q2 of this year. The ad unit appears more like a banner, on the right side of the screen with Hulu taking steps to address concerns around viewability, user-experience, and brand safety. Charmin and Coca-Cola are early adopters of the ad unit.

An advertising pitch deck from TikTok has been leaked. Digiday has published a copy of the TikTok pitch (paywall). The deck only has numbers for European users. Showing that Germany and France are the top markets with ~4MM active monthly users respectively. Overall, the user ratio is 54:46 (female:male). Ad products are: Brand takeover; in-feed native video; hashtag challenge; and Snapchat-style 2D lens filters for photos

PRIVACY / APPLE-GOOGLE-FACEBOOKAT WAR

There was a brief all-out war between Apple, Google, and Facebook during the week. While it didn’t impact advertisers or consumers, it has far reaching implications across everyone the industry when it comes to data, market research, and developing apps for Apple’s ecosystem. The following attempts to track and summarize the timeline of events, but to be clear there was no client or advertiser impact.

Facebook was making the app available via an Apple Enterprise Certificate a developer program for companies to make available apps to their staff only. Apple stated Facebook’s research app violated Apple’s terms.

It then emerged that Google also had a similar research-based app. Like Facebook, Apple said the way it was being deployed was in breach of Apple’s terms.This is where it all gets interesting and evolved into a hot war on Privacy.

After talks between all parties, on Thursday Apple restored the Enterprise Certificates for Facebook and Google.Editorial:What are the implications of all of this? On one hand, it shows that Apple’s position as a protector of consumer privacy is something they were prepared to act on (although many have pointed out Apple makes US$12B by making Google the default on Safari). There’s another counter point which is Apple over-stepped the mark, because these were opt-in consent-based market research programs not publicly available apps so all participants knew what they were doing vs other privacy scandals. It might also be an own-goal by Apple as a current class action lawsuit that alleges the AppStore is a monopoly is not as easy to defend when you start shutting down apps from competitors that the CEO has openly criticized (and where there is an active feud) . For advertisers and marketers, the lesson is that Apple has set a precedent where it will make decisions to take action where it sees a privacy issue against Apple’s own rules, adding not just the need to be regulatory compliant but ensuring you don’t cross-the-line with Apple.

MEDIA & ADTECH Q4 RESULTS

Facebook’s Q4 results were surprisingly good despite a year filled with controversy. The decline in Monthly and Daily Active Users in the US has stopped and revenues were up. The full Facebook investor presentation (PDF link) has useful slides with all of the key metrics (2.7B people now use Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram). In the earnings call (PDF transcript) Facebook did warn of “headwinds that (Facebook) might face on targeting given the overall privacy landscape in 2019“.

Verizon’s Q4 results, on the Verizon Media Group side, saw revenue down 5.8% (pdf link) and that the content/media focus would be “super channels” namely Yahoo! Sports, News, Finance, and Entertainment.

StreamLabs (a company that offers apps and services to streamers) published a report called “State of the Stream” focused on game streaming. The free report shows that twitch continues to dominate eSports streaming (just over 3x YouTube Gaming) and Fortnite while still the most popular has declined slightly.

Over the holiday period, there was a great article in the Economist about the importance of identity and a case of someone’s identity being deleted and stolen in 1409 (and the wide ranging impacts). You can read the article here (paywall).

Integral Ad Science (IAS) released a study that showed data privacy is the top priority for the industry (56% of respondents). The survey sampled 900 advertising professionals. You can download the report for free (registration required).

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Sun, 27 Jan 2019 22:45:30 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1751Welcome to another update, here’s what you might have missed Last Week in Digital Media. GENERAL Mark Zuckerberg posted an Op-Ed on the WSJ titled “The Facts About Facebook“. The post has been criticized by some for being dismissive of the challenges and concerns faced over the past 12 months. However, there is a positive takeaway (paraphrasing) where Zuckerberg affirms… Read more →

Mark Zuckerberg posted an Op-Ed on the WSJ titled “The Facts About Facebook“. The post has been criticized by some for being dismissive of the challenges and concerns faced over the past 12 months. However, there is a positive takeaway (paraphrasing) where Zuckerberg affirms “important principles around data are transparency, choice, and control … (and) … regulation that codifies these principles across the internet would be good for everyone“. It’s the first time Zuckerberg has publicly come out in support of regulation vs industry self-regulation.

There are reports the Facebook plans to integrate WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram Messenger. The apps would stay as standalone services, but they would share common infrastructure and you could message across platforms. There is a lot of speculation about what is driving this, from technological efficiency, monetization, a defensive against rivals, to a pre-emptive move against regulators who may want to break up Facebook’s services.

ONLINE VIDEO / OTT

Another week, another acquisition in the OTT space. This time, Viacom acquired Pluto TV for US $340MM. Pluto is ad-supported, has around 12MM active monthly users with more than half watching via Smart TVs. Pluto TV is free and an interesting OTT provider as it bundles content into channels, providing a more cable-like experience.

BRAND SAFETY

Facebook has introduced brand safety certification for Facebook Marketing Partners (FMPs). Partnering with DoubleVerify (DV) and OpenSlate (IAS is still in development). The solution enables advertisers/agencies to review Facebook’s publisher list and create a unique block based on your a clients brand safety profile. For more information on the offering, reach out Facebook or your contact at DV or OpenSlate.

There is a thought-provoking interview and article on the Guardian with Shoshana Zuboff, the author of new book called “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism“. The thesis being that data collection and being able to predict future behaviors is the future (and current) driver of capitalism, that society is separating into the “watchers” and the “watched” and the implications for society and democracy are significant. A must read and the phrase “surveillance capitalism” feels like it will be part of the industry lexicon this year.

Another state is making moves to introduce privacy legislation, this time it is Washington State. If successful, between California and Washington, the US could end up with a defacto national privacy standard given the major tech companies are founded in and have HQs in either state.

There’s always a lot of speculation about the break-up of big tech (Google, Facebook, Amazon). Bloomberg has an interesting interview with Congressman Cicilline, the Chairman of the Antitrust Committee and his perspective that anti-trust covers both competition and protecting rights online, as well as the possibility of auditing algorithms. Worth taking the time to read.

Have a wonderful week.

Joshua

PS. A tip this week is this phishing education quiz from Google. While those of in corporate environments benefit from training in how to spot suspicious emails, sometimes family members don’t get the same exposure. The quiz is helpful to share if you’re concerned family or friends might be a victim of a scam.

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Sun, 20 Jan 2019 22:45:11 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1736Here’s the news you may have missed last week in digital media. GENERAL Spotify continues to work on ways to make their music service the go-to in every part of your daily life. This time with a car-view mode in the Android version of the Spotify app, so that the app is easier to use and less distracting when driving… Read more →

Facebook is working on yet-another app targeted at teens, this time called “LOL“. The app is in a private-beta with high school students (all under NDA). Details are light, but the app is allegedly a meme hub with a Snapchat Discover-like experience.

Popular group video chat app, Houseparty, has integrated the popular mobile game Heads Up. as part of a move towards monetization. Heads Up opens the possibility for branded game packs that could be packaged and sold as sponsored extras to marketers, opening up integrated ad opportunities on the platform.

The IAB Tech LabDataLabel.orgtransparency initiative (like nutrition labels for data targeting) is now in beta and open for comment. The DataLabel demo doesn’t include all available data, just selected sets from participating partners and allows you to compare up to 3 data sets.

OTT / VIDEO

Netflix’s quarterly results are out, with the company adding 1.53MM US domestic subscribers. This puts their total number of US domestic subscribers at just over 60MM or another way to look at it – an additional 1.53MM people decided to opt for an ad-free content experience and require better media and content strategies to reach them.

A telling line in Netflix’s letter to shareholders (PDF link, pp 5, Competition) was that they “compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO”. Demonstrating why clients should look to eSports and gaming as part of their media strategy as gaming is winning part of the war for attention.

Are people comfortable with their data being used for targeted advertising? A new Pew Research study suggests when it comes to Facebook, the answer is no. Just over half of those surveyed were uncomfortable with Facebook compiling information on them and almost 3/4 were unaware the data was even collected (or the ad preferences page existed). As for the accuracy of the data collected, just over 1/4 said the data Facebook had collected was not accurate. The full report (PDF) can be downloaded here and it’s a good reminder that the industry needs to better explain everything from data collection to how targeting works (and why it is needed to fund content).

App Analytics company AppAnnie has released a report (PDF, free registration required) on the state of mobile in 2019. The detailed report (160pp) has some interesting stats, including that WhatsApp is Facebook’s most popular app/service (pp 49) and several pages of useful stats of the most popular apps are by usage, spend, and download across multiple countries (pp68 onwards). It’s worth taking some time to go through the report.

PRIVACY, TRUST, AND BRAND SAFETY

Microsoft is working a privacy initiative called Project Bali. that would give users complete control of how their data is used. The project page is going on/offline constantly, but it’s all based off a Microsoft whitepaper called “Inverse Privacy“. It makes for a fascinating perspective on how privacy is a challenge because of records-control by the individual (not an invasion of privacy) and that future competitive advantage will come to companies who give users control over their data. It also talks about small data, which is a whole different topic but very interesting concept.

PS. A favor to ask this week. I have been writing this update for 3 years now and I’m just shy of 500 subscribers. If you have a moment, it would be great if you find this newsletter useful it would be great if you could forward this email onto someone at UM or IPG with a note to encourage them to subscribe.

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Sun, 13 Jan 2019 22:45:12 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1712Welcome back to Last Week in Digital Media and the first one for 2019. Lot’s of news this week! CES 2019 The best download from CES innovation comes from the IPG Media Lab and I recommend you read their blog posts highlighting each day. During my walks of the floor, what stood out was “assistant everywhere”. Whether it was Google Assistant… Read more →

CES 2019
The best download from CES innovation comes from the IPG Media Lab and I recommend you read their blog posts highlighting each day. During my walks of the floor, what stood out was “assistant everywhere”. Whether it was Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, the ability to connect, support, or have them integrated into devices was prevalent across so many devices. There were smart toilets, smart closets, smart Set Top Boxes, and smart plug-ins for your car. There’s clearly a belief across hardware and device makers that consumers value integrated assistant features. The lesson from CES is that brands and marketers in 2019 would be well placed to think about how smart assistants and voice can form part of both product and marketing strategies in the year ahead (and what device makers they may consider as partners).

GENERAL

Amazon rarely discloses any specific numbers for Amazon Prime or other services, but in an interview with the Verge, Amazon’s SVP of services said that more than 100MM devices with Alexa on board have been sold. Amazon is also sold out of Echo dots until February 2019.

Google Chrome’s built-in capability to adblockunacceptable (aka highly disruptive) ads will go global as of July 9, 2019. A reminder, if you want to know what sort of ads are at risk of being blocked, visit the BetterAds.org standards page.

twitter is developing new analytics tools for publishers and events. The latter is the most interesting, as it also feeds into a product that will make it easier for users to tune in to events and what’s trending at said events without having to follow specific users or accounts (and unlock more event-based ad opportunities on the platform).

A reminder, Oath: is now rebranded as Verizon Media. This is not really a surprise, given Verizon took a write-down on the Oath: assets in the final weeks of 2018.

The are reports Amazon is working on a game streaming service. This is not to be confused with eSports / watching people play games (remember Amazon owns twitch in that category), it’s the delivery/ability to play games on any almost any device by streaming them from a central server. This is an important an emerging content area, with nVidia (GeForce Now), Google (Project Stream) and Microsoft (Project X Cloud) all experimenting with game streaming.

Amazon is working on a revised influencer strategy according to leaked documents. The influencer program would share a commission back with influencers who promote products, with higher commission rates for Amazon’s owned and operated brands. Influencers would also be incentivized to promote other Amazon offerings like Fresh, Music, etc.

A company called Tablo has a beta of DVR that will automatically skip adsin recorded content by leveraging AI and the cloud infrastructure. To automatically skip ads in DVR’d content. To access the capability, users will need to pay a monthly US$5 subscription.

Amazon’s free ad-supported streaming service is now official, it’s called IMDB Freedive and operates via the IMDB brand. The service includes movies, TV and IMDB originals (not to be confused with Amazon originals).

In the year-end review, Zuckerberg acknowledged many of Facebook’s 2018 (many) challenges although ended optimistically on how Facebook has contributed to communities. The long-promised Clear History tool was mentioned but no launch timeline proposed. The most interesting statement was Facebook is “working to establish an independent body that people can appeal decisions to and that will help decide our policies“. Hopefully, this will help Facebook make better decisions in 2019.

In Zuckerberg’s personal challenge is “is to host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society“. This is somewhat a continuation of his 2018 listening tour.

DNA testing company, 23andme, has taken a US$300MM investment from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Sparking debate about data privacy in the DNA testing category and articles on how to delete your 23andme data. It’s reasonable to expect that the GSK investment will fuel more calls for Federal data regulation in the US.

A Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) study in Europe revealed that using TAG certified inventory ad fraud rates dropped from 9% to 0.53%. The full TAG European Benchmark study is here (PDF) and underscores why you should ensure you always ask partners if their inventory is TAG certified.

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Sun, 16 Dec 2018 22:45:34 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1704It’s the last Last Week in Digital Media for the year. Thanks for reading, sharing, and notes of encouragement throughout the year. GENERAL The IPG Media Lab has published an excellent retrospective of the year, reviewing progress in six (6) key areas from regulation, to voice search and AR. Something to read and reflect on over the holiday break and prior… Read more →

]]>It’s the last Last Week in Digital Media for the year. Thanks for reading, sharing, and notes of encouragement throughout the year.

GENERAL

The IPG Media Lab has published an excellent retrospective of the year, reviewing progress in six (6) key areas from regulation, to voice search and AR. Something to read and reflect on over the holiday break and prior to CES.

Facebook is testing search ads again (the last time was back in 2013). It’s being tested in the US and Canada and only applies when making retail-related searches in the automotive and eCommerce categories. The best news, is the Facebook Search Ads are currently free – they just need to be set up in Ad Manager if you’re account/client is eligible.

Nielsen published their Q2 Total Audience Measurement report. Some highlights include that free (broadcast) TV was up (now 13% of all US homes), virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (vMVPDs) which includes Hulu, YouTube TV are up, and radio is holding strong at 93%. Total media consumption, across all devices, sits at 10 hours per day but that includes multiple devices, sharing the same hours.

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Sun, 09 Dec 2018 22:45:56 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1696Welcome back to Last Week in Digital Media. This week, I’ll include some of the major stories that broke during my the newsletter hiatus. This will also be the second last update of the year given the Holiday season is just around the corner. FACEBOOKThe last issue covered revelations about Facebook’s alleged behavior toward competitors. During the week, the UK… Read more →

]]>Welcome back to Last Week in Digital Media. This week, I’ll include some of the major stories that broke during my the newsletter hiatus. This will also be the second last update of the year given the Holiday season is just around the corner.

the documents seized from Six4Three reveal details on Facebook’s decisions about data, privacy, and who should have access to that data (API partners, advertisers, etc). There is no positive news for Facebook in the information that has been released.

The first page of the PDF document has 6 takeaways, NY Times has published their 4 key takeaways, and Insider has published a list of seven. All of them show Zuckerberg being personally involved in decisions to cut-off competitor access; the company is focused on what’s good for Facebook even if it’s not good for the world; and Facebook being open to circumventing privacy and data controls if it served Facebook’s interests.

Editorial: Facebook comes across as somewhat tone deaf and blind to concerns about the matters that have come to light in the documents. There is also very little being said proactively by Facebook about privacy or data protection. Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer has been notably silent as of writing this. With data and privacy regulation firmly on the horizon for 2019, Facebook is doing neither themselves or the industry favors right now. This headline (and article) on Forbes sums it up best “Facebook still doesn’t understand what privacy means“.

GENERAL

the Stories format, pioneered by Snapchat, is now coming to Linked In. The format will be tested first in an offering aimed at students called “Student Voices”. If you want to see what it looks like within the app and you’re a) reading this on your phone and b) have the Linked In app installed – click this link. Otherwise, check out the Linked In stories sizzle reel here.

it’s reported that Instagram is testing a more cards-based UI, bringing an end to the scrolling feed. If the test proves successful and becomes the default UI, it would enable richer, better viewable, full-screen mobile ads on the platform.

Hulu is on track to have 23MM subscribers by the end of 2018. The details were revealed by Hulu’s CEO (Randy Freer) at the Business Insider Ignition conference. Freer did hint that international expansion is coming, ad revenue remains a key part of the model, but did not reveal details or speculate on Disney might do given it is/will be a major shareholder.

A reminder, Google will turn off annotations in YouTube on January 15th. This has been expected for over a year now, with the ability to annotate new videos being discontinued back in May of 2017 but worth reminding clients in case they have legacy videos using the feature.

the IAB has released a draft ads.txt spec for mobile apps called app-ads.txt. It’s important that the industry encourages partners to adopt this standard, which would provide more transparency and safety in the mobile ecosystem, particularly helping to eliminate fraudulent inventory.

from the UK and as reported by The Drum, “the UK government’s intelligence and security committee has called on parliament to apply pressure on brands in an effort to “force” the removal of terrorist and extremist material by withdrawing ad spend from platforms like YouTube and Facebook.” This is something to take note of, as it makes brand safety broader than just ad adjacency and more about the entire platform.

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Sun, 18 Nov 2018 22:45:09 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1677Yes, I know I said there wouldn’t be the Last Week in Digital Media update this week but given the Facebook news (read on) I had to find a way to get an update out. I hope you find it useful. FACEBOOK The New York Times published an article on Facebook that alleges an executive-led process of denial, cover-up, and really questionable… Read more →

Editorial: There are more questions than answers after all of the reports and leaks. There is definitely a need for transparency and Facebook needs to demonstrate it can (and deserves to) be trusted by users, government, and advertisers. Perhaps the most positive thing to come out the news cycle is Zuckerberg’s proposal of an independent Content Governance & Enforcement group. Although, this is a solution that is needed across all major tech. platforms not just Facebook and it feels like 2019 is set to be the year of industry regulation.

GENERAL

Somewhat random, but just in time for the holiday season Snapchat is making available for sale personalized Bitmoji merchandise. Products cover everything from clothes to cushions and shower curtains. The move is possibly rooted in a need for Snapchat to get better insights into how eCommerce will work on the platform. The Bitmoji store will be US-only.

in news out of Malaysia, Netflix is launching a mobile-only pricing tier, to be more price competitive in the region. It’s interesting because it shows advertising isn’t necessary to subsidize cheaper subscription pricing and also recognizes that mobile-only subscription offerings may have a place.

In other Snapchat news, Snap’s VP of Content (Nick Bell) has resigned. Bell will remain until the end of the year and oversaw Snap Originals. Bell was also the original product owner of the Snapchat Discover offering. Snap CEO has re-affirmed Snap’s commitment to originals and content despite Bell’s departure.

TRUST, SAFETY & PRIVACY

Lost amongst all the Facebook drama, was an important GDPR ruling out of France. I encourage you to read the full tweet thread by NY Times reporter Robin Berjon. In short, an unknown French location data company “Vectaury” was found to be collecting data without consent (no fine, able to remediate) but it does call into question in-app consent and also the validity of IAB Consent framework. Notably “You cannot pass consent to another controller through a contractual relationship”. To quote Berjon “This means that if someone gains consent for you, and you have a contract saying it’s their responsibility to do so, you *still* have the obligation to verify that the consent is valid.” There’s a lot more to come on this ruling and make sure you get the appropriate legal advice.

]]>https://www.joshualowcock.com/digital-media-news/2018-11-16-last-week-in-digital-media/2018.11.09 Last Week in Digital Mediahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JoshuaLowcock/~3/vAn4KcaKVRE/
Sun, 11 Nov 2018 22:45:58 +0000http://www.joshualowcock.com/?p=1669There will be no Last Week in Digital Media for the next few weeks, updates will resume in December. If you miss the newsletter, there is always the archive, every past issue is available online. GENERAL Amazon has launched an Alexa app for Windows 10 PCs. Available for free from the Windows Store, the app works with Alexa skills and continues… Read more →

Verizon announced that they are organizing Oath: underneath “Verizon Media Group“. There’s some confusion on this news, whether it means the Oath: name is dead (or dying). According to conversations with people at Verizon and Oath: it’s less the name is being retired and for the short term it’s about an internal business unit re-organization. From a practical standpoint, nothing changes day to day.

If you’re ever struggling for a way to understand or explain viewability, there’s a great demo on ThinkWithGoogle that shows (in real time) just how viewability works. Worth a look and you should share with your clients and teams.

Facebook’srumored TikTok competitor (Lasso) is now live. The app is available on iOS and Android and is branded as “Short, Fun, Videos”. To use Lasso you must have either a Facebook or Instagram account.

Pandora’s Q3 results saw the music service add 784,000 subscribers, with total active premium users sitting at 6.8MM. This is smaller than numbers reported by Spotify (87MM) and Apple Music (50MM), A reminder, the Pandora/Sirius XM deal is still pending and is expected to close in Q1 2019.

PRIVACY, TRUST & SAFETY

The ongoing browser-based approach to clean up cookies, advertising and pop-ups continue. A lot of news in this area during the week, with Opera Mobile blocking cookie dialog boxes (that have spiked post-GDPR). Separately, Chrome 71 will block all ads on a site that has abusive user experiences. Publishers will be warned and have a 30day notice period before all ads are blocked (there isn’t yet a way for agencies to see if a site is being flagged for abusive experiences).